British media broke the news that South Africa privately discouraged Russian President Vladimir Putin from attending the BRICS summit to avoid arrest. It is rumored that Russia’s oil income has increased, and it plans to buy RMB to supplement foreign exchange. The deputy leader of the pro-Russian opposition party was arrested in Moldova to sweep up the rebel forces.
Zelensky again extended martial law and mobilized Ukrainian tank troops to express readiness for counterattack
Ukrainian state news agency reported on May 1 that President Volodymyr Zelensky had submitted to the Verkhovna Rada (Parliament) a draft decree to extend the period of martial law and general mobilization again, but the text of the draft decree and accompanying documents have not yet been made public. . Zelensky’s previously extended 90-day martial law will expire on May 18.
Ukraine’s long-planned spring counteroffensive may be about to start. Zelensky said on April 30 that even without Western fighters, a counteroffensive is still imperative. The Ukrainian army also hinted that the fire at the Russian-occupied Crimea fuel depot last weekend was the preparations for the Ukrainian counteroffensive.
Near the frontline city of Bakhmut in eastern Ukraine, members of Ukrainian tank units said they were ready to launch a spring offensive against Russian forces, AFP reported.
Team leader Oleksandr, 41, and three other soldiers used a 6-meter-long pole to clean the cannon of a T-72 main tank. He said that although they had not fired for several days, they still maintained the armored vehicles regularly to ensure that they were “ready at all times”.
Ukraine has been preparing for a counteroffensive for months, hoping to drive all Russian forces out of Ukrainian territory. “We have to move on, because this is our only chance to get home as soon as possible,” Olsandr said breathlessly after clearing a tank donated by Poland. , so we’re waiting for our chance,” as shelling and explosions rumbled in the distance.
Bachemt is about 15 km away. Since last summer, the area has been at the heart of the confrontation between the two armies. In recent weeks, members of the Wagner Group, a Russian mercenary organization, and members of Russian special forces have entered the center of Bakhmut, which Moscow claims controls about 90 percent of the city.
On the other hand, Russia has launched two waves of violent missile attacks across Ukraine in the past three days, causing many civilian casualties, including children, and apartment buildings, schools, hospitals and kindergartens have been damaged. The Moscow authorities apparently want to resume Russia’s winter long-range attack tactics before Ukraine’s planned counteroffensive.
However, the Russian Ministry of Defense once again claimed that the Russian army used high-precision long-range air-based and sea-based missiles to attack “Ukrainian military-industrial facilities.” The organization of military equipment has been disrupted “.
U.S. intelligence reveals that Russia paid a terrible price for nearly 5 months with 100,000 soldier casualties
According to foreign media reports, John Kirby, the White House National Security Council’s strategic communications and coordinator, told reporters that according to US intelligence estimates, the Russian military has estimated that there have been about 100,000 Russian troops in Bakhmut and other parts of Ukraine in the past five months. Among them, more than 20,000 soldiers died, and half of them came from the private mercenary organization Wagner Group (Wagner Group).
The report pointed out that most of the soldiers of the “Wagner” organization went into combat without adequate combat or training, combat leadership, or any organizational command and control.
That total, Kirby said, was three times the number of U.S. casualties in the Guadalcanal campaign during World War II. While Russia has made some progress in Bakhmut, it has come at a “terrible, very terrible price” and Ukraine’s defense in the region remains strong.
Kirby also revealed that the United States will soon announce another arms aid program to Ukraine.
U.S. Congressional Speaker Reiterates Support for Ukrainian Aid
Russia invaded Ukraine in February last year. The war has lasted for more than 14 months. The United States and its allies have successively provided military assistance to Ukraine against Russia and imposed economic sanctions on Russia. The US Congress has allocated more than 100 billion US dollars to provide economic and military assistance to Ukraine.
However, some far-right Republicans in the United States have previously criticized the aid policy to Ukraine and did not support “endless” aid to Ukraine. To this, the Speaker of the US House of Representatives Kevin McCarthy (Kevin McCarthy), who is visiting Israel, gave an answer.
The HuffPost and other media reported that Republican McCarthy held a press conference after his speech in the Knesset. A Russian reporter said that he knew that McCarthy did not support “endless” aid to Ukraine, and asked the US Congress whether to change the policy of supporting Ukraine.
McCarthy asked back: “He just said I don’t support aid to Ukraine? Wrong, I voted for aid to Ukraine.”
Not only McCarthy, but the Republican leader of the U.S. Senate, Mitch McConnell, also firmly believes that the United States should assist Ukraine in self-defense.
McCarthy also told the Russian reporter who asked the question: “I don’t support what your country is doing in Ukraine, and I don’t support your killing of children. My opinion is that you should withdraw your troops. I don’t think (this war) is famous. , we will continue to support (Ukraine), because the rest of the world sees the truth.”
Agence France-Presse reported that Canadian Prime Minister Justin Trudeau (Justin Trudeau) spoke with Zelensky on May 1 and announced that the two countries will continue to implement long-term cooperation plans.
Trudeau promised that Canada would continue to provide military, humanitarian and financial assistance to Ukraine for as long as Ukraine needs it, no matter how long. The eight Leopard 2 tanks promised by Ottawa to Kiev arrived in Poland in mid-April.
Zelensky thanked Trudeau and praised the long-term defense cooperation program between the two countries.
Since September 2015, Canada has trained more than 36,000 Ukrainian soldiers, a mission that will be extended until March 2025. In addition, Canada announced in March that it would extend until October the mission to train Ukrainian engineers and that it would provide Ukraine with “combat medical training”.
In addition, Zelensky pointed out that Canada has begun to seize Russian assets, “which is an important example for all other countries in the world.”
Regarding the confiscation of Russian assets, US Attorney General Merrick Garland announced on February 3 for the first time the authorization to transfer $5.4 million of confiscated Russian oligarch assets to support Ukrainians and reconstruction efforts. The money was withheld from Malofeyev, the financial backer of the separatist forces in eastern Ukraine, and will be handed over to the US State Department for use.
The U.S. Department of Justice charged Malofeev with “funding Russians promoting separatism in Crimea” and “attempting to evade sanctions” on April 6 last year, the first criminal charges the U.S. has brought against a Russian oligarch since Russia invaded Ukraine. For example; the U.S. Department of the Treasury also named him as the head of sanctions against the Russians that month, and in June it was even called “acting directly or indirectly for or on behalf of the Russian government”; a U.S. bank account belonging to him exceeded 5.3 million U.S. dollars and was seized at that time However, the US judge ruled on the 2nd that the prosecution can confiscate it.
South Africa holds the rotating presidency of the BRICS this year and will host the annual BRICS summit in August. Earlier, South African Ambassador to China Xie Shengwen claimed that Russian President Vladimir Putin had been invited to attend. Attending the BRICS summit with the leaders of South Africa, China, India and Brazil would be a major diplomatic achievement for Putin, his first major foreign trip since ordering the Russian military invasion of Ukraine. However, the British media broke the news, and it is estimated that Putin will not be able to do so.
The Sunday Times quoted South African government sources as saying on April 30 that a special government committee set up by South African President Cyril Ramaphosa had concluded that if Putin set foot on South African soil, the country would be There is no choice but to arrest him.
A South African government official told the Sunday Times that because South Africa had ratified the Rome Statute, it was obliged to comply with its decisions, including arrest warrants for suspected war criminals. “If Putin came here, we would have to arrest him,” he said.
The International Criminal Court (ICC), established in accordance with the “Rome Statute” and located in The Hague, Netherlands, aims to prosecute and sanction heinous crimes: genocide, violations of humanity and war crimes. 123 countries around the world have signed and passed the Statute, including South Africa.
According to reports, the South African authorities have privately discouraged Putin from attending the meeting and instead participated via videoconference to avoid forcing South Africa to arrest Putin due to the arrest warrant issued by the International Criminal Court.
South African authorities are still negotiating with Russia, and the Kremlin has not made a statement on how Putin plans to attend the BRICS summit.
Previously, Ramaphosa said on April 25 that the African National Congress (ANC), the ruling party in South Africa, had decided to ask the government to withdraw from the ICC. However, the President’s Office later clarified that this was due to a communication error by the African National Congress and that South Africa did not intend to withdraw from the ICC.
Bloomberg reported that after Russia was sanctioned by the West, the renminbi has now become one of the main trading currencies in Russia. According to data from the Central Bank of Russia, the total transaction volume of the renminbi in Russia rose to a record 39% in March, while the transaction volume of the US dollar fell. 34%.
In order to make up for the fiscal deficit, Russia previously sold RMB in its foreign exchange reserves. However, the recent revenue from Russian oil has been better than expected, which has enabled Russia to reduce the number of sales of foreign exchange reserves and even buy RMB. It is expected that Russia will buy 2 yuan per month in the future. billions of dollars in RMB.
Analyst Natalia Milchakova believes that Russia has no longer used its original foreign exchange savings, but instead replenished the previously sold renminbi, which may mean that Russia’s fiscal revenue has gradually improved, and even stabilized, and may even drive the ruble to rebound.
Deputy leader of pro-Russian opposition party arrested in Moldova
“Liberty Times” reported that Ukraine’s neighboring country, Moldova, began to mop up pro-Russian rebel forces. On May 1, it was reported that Marina Tauber, the vice-chairman of the pro-Russian opposition party Sor Party, had been arrested by the national security unit .
Moldova relies heavily on Russia for natural gas, which has also become Moscow’s economic weapon. Moscow halved gas supplies to Moldova last year in an attempt to put pressure on President Maia Sandu’s government, which is now pro-Western and trying to unite the country’s Romanian and Russian-speaking populations in favor of the West.
The soaring energy crisis caused by the halving of natural gas has made the people miserable. In February, the Saul Party took the opportunity to call on dissatisfied people across the country to demonstrate in the capital, trying to cooperate with Russia, which is trying to overthrow the Sandu government, and attracted attention.
Western intelligence agencies say Putin is behind the protests, seeking to destabilize the Moldovan state and overthrow a pro-Western government.
Sandu has also previously warned of a Russian plot to send military-trained saboteurs into Moldova disguised as civilians with the goal of overthrowing her pro-Western government. But Russia denies this.
Moldova borders Ukraine. In the former Soviet Union, it was divided into strategic buffer positions. Today, there is still a pro-Russian separation zone called “Dniester Republic”, referred to as “German Left”. The country has not received international support. admit.
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